Lucky to be Different
by 100EMERALD
Summary: Oneshot I wrote months ago, and I'm just getting around to posting it. High school romance fluff, enjoy!


**A/N **This happens to be the 2nd fanfiction I ever wrote. I wrote it awhile ago, but never thought about posting it. When I read it again, I wanted to vomit because it's got so much fluff it's just sickeningly cute. Hard to explain, but I changed a lot of it when I typed it up. I might post the original to show you just how different it was. It's horrible... but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

><p>"Shiro-chan!" Momo waved across the schoolyard at her childhood friend. She sent a sweet smile in his direction.<p>

Toshiro gave a small wave back. Luckily for him, Momo wasn't close enough to see the blush making its way across his face. She looked beautiful today, but she looked really pretty every day. Her smile was especially captivating; whenever she did there were faint dimples that would appear on her cheeks.

"Hey, Hitsugaya! Whatcha looking at? Wow, Hinamori sure looks pretty today, doesn't she?" a bubbly blonde friend of Toshiro's asked.

"Hey, Rangiku," Toshiro responded coolly. He tried to avoid her question in fear he might just say something downright stupid.

Across the schoolyard, two of Momo's other friends were making their way towards her. One had bright red hair, which was pulled back into a spiky ponytail. The other was a blonde with bangs covering his left eye.

"Oh, hey guys!" Momo exclaimed to the two boys happily.

"Momo, quit being so cute all the time. You're going have boys falling all over you," Renji teased.

"What's wrong with that?" Momo teased back.

"You know a lot of the guys here are bad news just as well as I do." Renji became more serious. "I especially don't like that Nnoritora kid."

"Yea, he's bad news. Did you hear that he got suspended last week for trying to grope some freshman girl?" Kira butted in.

"You guys don't need to be so protective. Toshiro's got that role covered," Momo teased.

Renji and Kira were two of Momo's closest friends, along with Toshiro. She had to admit that it was nice having guy friends close in case she was having boy problems. Sometimes only guys could get a message through another guy clearly. Other times they got really protective, although Momo couldn't blame them. That's just what friends were for.

Momo turned and watched as Toshiro and Rangiku made their way over to them. Momo's day always seemed to get a little better when she was with her friends. She felt like they were all just a big, happy family.

"Yo, Rangiku!" shouted Renji, "You know, there's something going around about you and Hisagi. According to half of this school's population you and him got it on yesterday after the class meeting."

"We did ditch together, but nothing happened. Oh well, what can you do? People don't have anything better to do than spread stuff like that," Rangiku replied casually. Although she could naturally be seductive around boys, she wasn't the type to do anything too reckless.

"Yea, I figured the same, but I was just curious. I was just telling you what I heard."

"Guys, these matters are really petty," Toshiro butted in, slightly annoyed.

Momo giggled at him. He was so cute when he got that annoyed look on his face, although she would never tell him that. He hated being called "cute" because he was not a little boy.

While Momo was giggling to herself, Toshiro took a glance at her. He rolled his eyes, but secretly thought about those dimples he saw on her face. Every time she smiled, or laughed they were there. It also amazed him the way her laugh in itself seemed to lighten everybody's spirits.

Light chatter continued between the group, and pretty soon everybody was laughing and smiling. The only person that didn't have much to say was Toshiro, as he was too busy thinking about Momo, and if he would ever be able to tell her how he felt. Everything she seemed to do made his head spin, and his heart flutter. It was insane.

The bell rang at the end of the day, signaling everybody to go home. Friends all said their goodbyes to each other before heading home. Toshiro sat alone on the steps leading into the main building and waited for his friends to come out. Rangiku's loud and perky voice was the first one he heard.

"Did you find a date to the prom yet? Shuhei and I are going together. I think this year's prom is going to be so fun!" Rangiku exclaimed to someone noisily.

Suddenly Momo appeared right in front of Toshiro. "Boo! Shiro-chan, did I scare you?" She had a big grin on her face.

Rangiku and the others came to join them not long after. Toshiro wasn't really paying attention to any of them, except for Momo. He noticed how the sun was hitting her skin at the perfect angle, making it almost glow. She was so pretty that he was almost surprised she was still single.

"Hey, Toshiro, ready to go? Everyone else left." Momo playfully nudged his arm, snapping him out of his daze.

"Yea, alright," he mumbled. He stood up to leave with Momo, who lived in the same neighborhood as him.

Toshiro was quiet most of the way home. He normally didn't have much to say, but being this quiet was unusual for even him. Momo began to wonder if she had said or done something wrong earlier.

"Hey, Shiro-chan, are you alright? You've barely said a word since we left school. Did I say something wrong?" Momo asked, puzzled.

Toshiro stopped walking and looked at her. She did something wrong every day, but it wasn't her fault. She made his heart beat faster whenever she was near him, and she was the only person on the entire planet who could make him blush. It was all just because she was being… Momo.

"Momo, what could you have done wrong?" Toshiro asked simply.

"Well, it's just that you haven't said much since we started walking home. Even you aren't normally this quiet, so I thought I could have said something to make you upset," admitted Momo.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I was just thinking about stupid, pointless things," Toshiro lied. She wasn't pointless or stupid.

The two decided to stop and rest under a large oak tree for a while, enjoying the day's beautiful weather. It was sunny, warm, and the skies were cloudless. Maybe this would be the perfect time for Toshiro to say something to Momo. He didn't know where to start.

Momo seemed to be enjoying the weather. She closed her eyes to relax a little. Toshiro took advantage of this moment to study her. His eyes ran from her fingertips up to her arms, and onto her face. They rested on her mouth, which was curved into a slight smile.

A curious thought entered Toshiro's mind. He began to wonder what it would be like to kiss her, to taste her lips. They were relaxed, and soft pink in color. She took good care of them, too, always carrying a tube of chap stick with her.

The more he thought about kissing her, the more he wanted to. He wanted to know what it would be like to have her against him, her mouth against his. More importantly he wanted to know if she'd even be ok with the idea.

"Momo," he half whispered, "I'm really sorry."

Momo heard Toshiro and was instantly confused by his words. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with him. His mouth was about a half inch away from hers. She was shocked and confused, but she didn't move away.

As the space closed between the two, Toshiro hoped he wouldn't make a fool out of himself. He supposed he was already going down that road when he made the move. He hoped she wouldn't hate him for this, or find it creepy and awkward. She hadn't backed away yet, which was a good sign.

Finally, his lips connected with hers. He felt like he might loose control, but he couldn't do that. Not with Momo. He needed to hold himself together for the time being. She was probably confused right now.

Momo was definitely surprised by her friend's actions. Yet, in spite of this, she couldn't bring herself to stop him. She didn't entirely mind this, either. When he stopped and pulled away, she leaned forward a little.

"Shiro-chan…" Momo whispered. "Shiro-chan, why did you apologize?" Her heart was beating rapidly.

"I didn't know what you were going to think," he admitted. "I'm sorry if you think it was weird, or stupid, or awkward…"

"Toshiro, kiss me again." Momo's reply shocked Toshiro.

He didn't know how much more of this insanity from his head he could handle. One part of him said no, but the other part (the larger part) was practically forcing him to kiss her again. He practically lost control the first time, and he didn't know how much more he could handle. Still, he wanted to please her, and he really wanted to kiss her again.

The space between the two closed again. Both felt their heart beat faster, and Toshiro felt his head start to spin. Momo tensed up a little, but didn't mind what was going on. She was almost proud of herself for speaking up and making her request.

Toshiro began to suck on her bottom lip a little. Momo let him, and tried to return the kisses he was giving her as best as she could. Little did he know, she hadn't ever been kissed before… well until now. She had no idea what she was doing; did he?

Toshiro wasn't experienced, either. He just decided on doing what felt natural to him, and this felt perfect. He'd had girlfriends before, but they'd all broken up with him before he'd had the chance to kiss them. They all thought he was too cold to be around. Momo never had; she knew there was more to him than what a person saw on the outside.

The two continued, and Toshiro felt his head cloud up. He was getting lost in the moment, and the butterflies in his stomach continued to multiply. He didn't want the moment to end, but he was afraid Momo might think they were going too far. Sure, she'd asked for it, but what if this was too much?

In truth, Momo was a little scared, but not because of Toshiro. She was afraid she'd do something and screw the moment up. She happened to be enjoying this, and didn't want to be the one to mess it up.

Slowly, Toshiro began to pull away. His head was spinning, and his heart threatened to spill out of his chest. The feeling he had in his heart was odd, but he liked it. He didn't like the longing he felt when he and Momo were apart. Why in the world was he feeling this way?

Momo's heart was also racing. It was all so much to take in, and her brain was still trying to process the facts. She had just been kissed for the first time, and by her best friend nonetheless. What did this make them now?

Both of them sat in silence for a while, but it wasn't awkward. It gave Momo a while to study Toshiro's face, because now she was seeing him in a different way. He had beautiful eyes, she noticed, and they were staring directly at her.

"You're beautiful, you know," Toshiro said whole-heartedly.

Momo blinked in slight confusion. To be perfectly honest, she'd never considered herself pretty at all. Was Toshiro being serious, or was he just trying to mess with her head? He'd just kissed her, so it would be strange for him to do that, and he really did sound like he meant what he said. Momo could only blush a little at the said compliment.

"Did I say something wrong?" Toshiro asked in a more serious tone.

"N-no… but did you mean what you said?" Momo asked shyly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Toshiro inquired.

"Because… because I'm not like other girls. I don't dress like they do, and I don't wear as much makeup as they do, and I'm not pretty like-"

"Stop it," interrupted Toshiro, "You don't need to be like those girls. I didn't… I didn't fall for you because you were like them. It was because you were you, and I couldn't ask for anything else."

Momo felt a few tears run down her face. She wasn't sad; she was touched. Nobody had ever said anything like this to her before, and it practically made her heart soar. Nobody had ever made her feel this happy before with just a few uplifting words.

"If you're lucky enough to be born different, don't ever change," Momo muttered to herself.

"I believe that," Toshiro replied, indicating he had heard what Momo said. He smiled.

Even being as happy as she was, there was still one thing that Momo was curious about. "When did you… fall for me?" she asked.

Toshiro smiled at her question. "When we were fourteen," he said simply.

Momo was surprised at his response. That was almost two whole years ago! "How come you never said anything?" she asked.

Toshiro pondered his response. "I liked what we had as friends." He paused. "When we met in kindergarten, I knew there was something different about you that I liked. I knew you wouldn't grow up to be like everyone else, and I loved being your friend because of that. Being your best friend was one of the best things I could ever have asked for," he said with a smile.

This made Momo smile. "You really think so?" she asked.

"I do. And I don't want you to feel like you need to change because of what other people think. I like the Momo Hinamori I grew up with," Toshiro admitted.

"Shiro-chan will always be my best friend," Momo said happily.

Getting together with Momo didn't seem as important to Toshiro anymore. He'd be happy if he knew Momo would always be with him, whether they were just friends or if they became more than that. He treasured what they'd had for years, and he was grateful just to have her as his best friend. He loved her, and he always would.

"Hey, you know I love you, right?" Toshiro asked.

Momo blushed. "Yes," she said as she moved over to lean against his shoulder. He put his arm around her. "Can we stay like this for awhile?" she asked.

"Sure," replied Toshiro contently. Suddenly he heard Momo giggle. "What?" he asked.

"What do you think Rangiku is going to say when she hears about this?" Momo asked.

"She'll most likely freak out. I think she knew I liked you," Toshiro admitted.

"Should we tell her what happened?" Momo asked.

"Let's not worry about her right now. I'm just enjoying the moment right now," Toshiro replied happily.

"Agreed," Momo said with a content smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **Soooo what'd you think? Want to puke? Oh, how many of you recognized the Taylor Swift quote? I love it, and I wanted to sneak it in there!

Anyways, please feel free to hit the shiny review button!


End file.
